Air Force nuclear squadron passes inspection

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. 
An Air Force squadron responsible for maintaining an estimated 2,000 nuclear weapons at a New Mexico base has been re-certified after passing a surprise inspection this week.

Kirtland Air Force Base officials said the 898th Munitions Squadron received a "ready" rating after a team from the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio spent the week inspecting the unit.

The Air Force says the reliability and accountability of the nuclear stockpile was never affected when the squadron was decertified Jan. 27. The commander of the Nuclear Weapons Center at the Albuquerque-area base requested the decertification after the unit failed a November inspection.

Air Force officials blamed administrative problems for the decision to decertify the squadron.